My boyfriend and I visited Belgium in March 2012; we spent one day in Brussels, one day in Gent, one day sightseeing in Bruges and then one day biking around Bruges. It was a wonderful trip!
In Bruges, we stayed at the Hotel Ibis Brugge Centrum, which was very basic but fine. We spent the day mostly just walking around the city, my boyfriend's favorite way to sightsee. We did do the canal boat tour, which shouldn't be missed, although the line was long. We visited the swans at Minnewater Lake, which I loved, and the beguinage, which was nice. We took the De Halve Maan Brewery tour, which was pretty good as brewery tours go. (My boyfriend's big into beer, so whenever I'm planning a vacation for us I always try to fit in a brewery tour if I see one; his favorite in Belgium was actually the Cantillon in Brussels.) One of the best parts of the De Halve Maan tour was that it ends on the rooftop and has a great view of the city, which was nice because the big tower in the center of town was closed when we were there.
You definitely need to visit the Markt and Burg town squares, of course. We also stopped at the Basilica of the Holy Blood, just out of curiousity (we're not religious); I kinda wish we hadn't, because (not intending to offend anyone) I personally found the vial of "blood" to be rather nauseating. But that's just me.
As I said, we rented bikes on our last day. This was the boyfriend's idea; I hadn't been on a bicycle in over ten years and was rather nervous, especially because it was raining a bit, but I let him convince me. We rented them in the center of town, and honestly I did have some trouble at first with the cobblestones and the rain and the very narrow streets. We went to the eastern edge of town, then north past the windmills, then northeast along the canal to Damme. Once we got out of the city center, it was fantastic! We both had a wonderful time (and I only nearly ran over one lady on foot).
I hope you enjoy your visit! I'm sure you will; it really is like an effin' fairy tale.
